Faced with a mid-production pandemic, L.O.R.D. director and Tiny Times creator Guo Jingming’s latest, The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity Arrives, has lived to tell the tale. Netflix announced its acquisition of the Chinese fantasy thriller on Wednesday with a trailer and images in its wake, and is slating a worldwide release on February 5, 2021.
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity is based on the 1986 Japanese fantasy novel, Onmyōji, by Baku Yumemakura, and stars Mark Chao and Allen Deng from a script by Guo. Chao plays Qingming, the film’s rendition of the original’s protagonist, Abe no Seimei, the most renowned yin-yang master during the Heian period. Deng will portrays Boya, iterating Guo’s take on original character, Hiromasa.
The film follows young yin-yang master Qingming (Mark Chao) as he travels to The Capital on his master’s orders, where he attends a Heaven ceremony. He is tasked with sealing a demon serpent for good, in order to prevent it from waking from its 300-year slumber and plaguing the people once again. However, the now released demon serpent is mighty and powerful. Qingming, together with a warrior named Boya (Allen Deng), Master Nanjiang (Jessie Li), and Master Heshou of the Imperial Observatory (Wang Duo), sets out to eliminate the demon serpent. In the midst of turmoil and crisis, an earth-shattering conspiracy involving the princess (Wang Ziwen) begins to surface.
“I’m excited that The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity will soon be introduced to global audiences on Netflix.” says Guo. “My biggest takeaway from adapting such an oriental aesthetics classic is how to work with the creative team to visualize such a mysterious, elegant, yet dangerous and challenging oriental world in all aspects. I hope Netflix members will enjoy the world of The Yin-Yang Master and find their own fun in this fantasy journey.”
“In order to prepare for the role of Qingming, I re-read the original novel and re-watched the Japanese version of the movie.” said Chao. “As the classic interpretation cannot be surpassed, I had to find a different path. In the end, after working with the director, we found an eccentric, black-bellied Qingming, paired with rigorous martial arts training, hoping to deliver a refreshing experience to new viewers and old fans through the global platform of Netflix.”.
“The Boya I played is brave and a great fighter on the surface, but in fact has simple thoughts.” says Deng. “He sympathizes with Qingming, who shares the same sufferings as he does, but Qingming also killed his mother. The entanglement of love and hatred between these two characters leads to major changes in Boya’s personality. What I remember the most was a fight scene between them. We filmed for ten consecutive days without a substitute, supported each other in and out of the scene, and developed a strong brotherhood. I hope Netflix viewers will like this truthfully recreated yet reshaped world of The Yin-Yang Master.”
The film is scored by Japanese composer Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell), and credits Korea’s leading special effects company 4th Creative Party (Okja, Snowpiercer), renowned Taiwanese designer Jamie Wei Huang (Tiny Times) and her team, and Artistic Director Nan Tu (Legend of the Demon Cat).
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity hails from Hehe Pictures, Zestful Unique Ideal, Thinkingdom Pictures and Shanghai Film Group.
